CHENANGO COUNTY – Although the day is still months away, the Chenango United Way has begun making plans for a second annual Day of Caring event, which serves as the official kick-off to the year’s campaign.
Sept. 27 has been set aside for volunteers to help non-profit organizations complete various work projects.
Campaign Director Victoria Mitchell said last year’s event was a success for all involved, with almost double the number of volunteers participating at 12 different non-profit sites throughout the county. This year, Mitchell is anticipating about 125 volunteers, and hopes to have at least 15 non-profit groups sign up.
“All of the volunteeers enjoyed doing the projects,” she said. “We got a positive response to the idea of giving back to the community.”
Some of the projects last year included helping the New Berlin Housing Authority to power wash their buildings, planting a flower garden and landscaping at the Children’s Home RTF in Greene and assisting with a blood drive at the United Methodist Church.
The event will follow the same pattern as last year’s. Volunteers will meet for a free breakfast, pick up a free Day of Caring Tt-shirt, and then head out in teams to a work site. The community service activities will last for half the day, ending around noon.
In addition to the regular volunteer activities, the project will include a youth-based project, called “Stuff the Bus.” Participating area schools will fill out forms showing what kinds of school supplies children in their schools might need. The United Way will be accepting donations of backpacks, paper, pencils, erasers, pens, folders, glue sticks, scissors, crayons and rulers. The youth volunteers will separate the supplies evenly among the schools based on what supplies the school requested.
The youth project is open to youth groups, Girl Scout or Boy Scout Groups, or to individual children accompanied by an adult family member. Children accompanied by a parent or guardian are also welcome to volunteer in the general activities
Mitchell explained that companies will have the option of forming their own team, and designing their own project by working with a non-profit organization of their choosing, while still being a part of the Day of Caring. “Some wanted to connect, but still do their own thing,” Mitchell explained. That will be an option for teams this year.
“We encourage community members whether you have participated in the past or not, to get involved. It’s a great way to give back to the community,” Mitchell said.
Sign-up forms for volunteers interested in participating in the Day of Caring event will soon be available on the CUW website at www.chenangouw.org. Any non-profit organization that would like to have their project considered for the event should also can fill out a request form on the site. For more information about the Day of Caring, contact the CUW at 334-8815.